Catalog
½ Libra Peruana de Oro
| Issuer | Banco de Reserva del Perú |
|---|---|
| Year | 1926 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Libra Peruana (1898-1931) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Printed entirely in green intaglio on white paper, the reverse centres on a large oval vignette of three workers engaged in mining activity within a rocky, foliage-filled landscape. Elaborate rosette cornerpieces anchor each corner, with the fraction '½' repeated at all four sides, and the legend 'BANCO DE RESERVA DEL PERU' curving along the upper arc of the vignette frame; the lower margin carries 'MEDIA LIBRA PERUANA DE ORO' in bold letterpress with the printer's imprint below. |
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
The Banco de Reserva del Perú was established in 1922, replacing the earlier system of commercially issued banknotes with centralized emission. This ½ Libra denomination belongs to the bank's earliest series, issued while Peru still pegged its currency to the gold-denominated Libra Peruana — a unit modeled closely on the British sovereign in weight and fineness. The peg would not survive the decade; by 1931 the system collapsed under external debt pressure and Peru shifted to the Sol.
ABNC's contract for this series was typical of the period, when South American central banks routinely sent printing work to New York rather than developing domestic security printing infrastructure. The watermark is the sole anti-counterfeiting measure — no colored fibers, no serial number security thread.